Increase Mileage Switch ??

[Dave 2000]

i have increase mileage 2-3 mpg with good driving techniques, but i want to go further with little cost.

I have been talking with a friend of mine who knows a lot about electrónics. He claims that if i am able to modify the signal from the O2 sensor, i could eventualy make the ECU think that the engine should run leaner......

....is this theoretically posible? Could it make any harm to the engine?

Hola amigo!

Yes it is possible however, you really need to have someone who knows his stuff. An engine running too lean could burn a hole in, or even melt a piston this would happen very quickly with no prior warning, if the engine runs into detonation perhaps by poor flame propagation you could even flatten the ring lands over time and trap the piston rings,this would at minimum cause excessive wear or seizure in a worse case scenario. Have a power balance test carried out to ensure the individual cylinders are 'pulling their weight' and correct anything that may need sorting for example an injector service and call it good, if your mechanic cannot do this then find someone who can.

IMHO leave it alone, keep it serviced super good making sure your mechanic knows his stuff and be done with it.


Just my 2 cents worth

regards

Dave

 

[specialk396]

Running your engine lean is going to burn an exhaust valve. Ride a dirtbike! Sounds like the hobby is too pricey for EU.

 

[xprmntl]

Best bet would be to lighten the pig up--get out your sawzall.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/404598-brunt-force-traumas-fj80-thread-12.html

 

[MountainBum]

Possible yes, the right way to lean out an overly rich ecu, NO NO NO!!!!

You need a wide band air/fuel ratio gauge and a tuning piggy back computer. Your best bet is an injector controller so you can lean out the injectors without messing with signals to the ecu. But this is only a good idea IF, AND ONLY IF, your truck is running like 12 or 13/1 afr cruising, when it should be 14.7/1

 

[sky90]

I lean towards lighter, well-maintained vehicle and not doing mods to engine/engine management... save as much $ as possible without creating possible mid-long term reliability issues.

Afterall, its a yota

Separate sets of tires (for DD 275/70R16 HT @ 43psi & for Wheeling), front facing snorkel, unnecessary stuff off truck, no 500kg of barworks, no roof rack for DD...

Come to think of it, its also more pleasure to drive a lighter truck with HT tires weaving in & out of traffic...

 

[E M U]

Go to Poland and mount IV generation LPG. It only takes one day and cost aobout 1100$. My engine consumes 24l propane-butane per 100km, which is equvalent of 22 MPG due to lower cost of propane. This is the chepest and most efficient way to increase MPG. The only problem is lack of LPG stations in Spain - les than 50 in the country, while every else in EU it is available on almost every gas station.
Go LPG !!

 

[kidglove13]

I just go out and start up my little toyota corolla
That is my magic mpg switch

 

[angerhater]

my truck came with the factory (adjust consumption) A/C switch...turn it off and max up the tire pressure....it gets me a little better gas mileage....and with no abs I can skid faster in the rain.....=0)

 

[Ebag333]

Go to Poland and mount IV generation LPG. It only takes one day and cost aobout 1100$. My engine consumes 24l propane-butane per 100km, which is equvalent of 22 MPG due to lower cost of propane. This is the chepest and most efficient way to increase MPG. The only problem is lack of LPG stations in Spain - les than 50 in the country, while every else in EU it is available on almost every gas station.
Go LPG !!

I'd love an LPG kit we could import into the States.

 

[thelal]

EMT,
Thats a pretty good deal - price wise. What type tank and where positioned is that?
What make for the LPG vaporiser/size and electronics?

 

[E M U]

Propane tank is where the spare wheel was. I got 2 tanks, together 150 l = more than 600 km.

 

[jchico77]

I have rebuilt the complete exhaust line, max pressure on wheels and changed filters. Also I have built in a switch to turn off the AC and only use it when neccesary avoiding the "auto" function to turn it on always......
Mileage has rised a lot. Enough for having it running with Euro gas prices.

I'm making in the range of 13 to 15 mpg.......

 

[Ebag333]

Also I have built in a switch to turn off the AC and only use it when neccesary avoiding the "auto" function to turn it on always......

Er, wha?

If you manually set it, it stays manual set. If you really want to disable all automatic function, there's a switch on the back that lets you go from auto to completely manual.

I'm making in the range of 13 to 15 mpg.......

That's not bad.

I've found, however, that it depends more on how you drive than anything else. I've noticed that on the mostly stock truck, the way you drive can easily make a 4-6 MPG difference.

 

[jchico77]

I knew about the "auto/manual" switch on the back of the A/C control unit, but mine, for no known reason, doesn't work. That's why I had to do the trick.

About the mileage.....that is doing a very careful driving. 33", +5, ARB front, front and rear winches.....I don't think I can make better.

Any suggestions??

 

[Ebag333]

Get taller and lighter tires, lower lift, less weight. Other than that...don't worry about it?

 

[xprmntl]

LC's get lousy gas mileage because they're heavy and not very aerodynamic. Anything to improve these will help gas mileage. Start by removing the fender flares. Sky's the limit...

 

[e9999]

I have rebuilt the complete exhaust line, max pressure on wheels and changed filters. Also I have built in a switch to turn off the AC and only use it when neccesary avoiding the "auto" function to turn it on always......
Mileage has rised a lot. Enough for having it running with Euro gas prices.

I'm making in the range of 13 to 15 mpg.......

not sure what you meant unless you were joking. Your mileage has increased a lot, as in from 14 to 13-15?

(do note, btw, when you compare data, that mpg and also octane are different in the US and UK/Europe)

problem is that you're battling physics. It takes a given amount of power to move the vehicle at a given speed etc. So futzing with the gas engine, everything else the same, is not likely to give you much better mpg if you start from a well-tuned engine. Sure you can do various things that will decrease the power but then you'll have to crush the go pedal more to get to the same speed, which isn't likely to increase your mpg, so might as well simply lift the foot with a normal engine. Using additives to boost the octane is also likely not cost-effective I would think.

Yup, less weight, more psi, fewer accessories, more aerodynamic etc will help a bit. The roof rack is particularly bad for the latter, btw. It costs me something like 2mpg.

LPG of course is a different ball game altogether. (But can you find LPG easily in the Sahara if you like to go there?)

 

[scrowley]

I agree with one of the posts in this thread on "Water injection" This is known to increase mpg. Some simple systems out there. I know the only problem with cheap systems is the check engine light on. My uncle did it on his geo tracker and got 6mpg increase. He made the kit himself for like nothing. Just a thought.

 

[xprmntl]

Water injection is not "known to increase mileage." If they were, it'd be a cheap and easy way to gain mileage and be used all the time. It can increase the octance rating of the fuel air mixture which helps reduce detonation temperatures so one can run higher compression and more aggressive timing. This works to a reasonable extent on supercharged and turboed cars to increase peak power, and could likely increase mileage to a small degree. Wonder if the gain would be offset by the weight of the Toyota supercharger? Additionally, it needs to be used with an antifreeze agent like methanol if driving in the winter or at high altitudes.

6 MPG increase on a regularly aspirated Tracker? I doubt it.

 

[scrowley]

Idk but my uncles tracker isnt a street racer...And he has been running it for 3 yrs. with an around 4-6 mpg extra on avg. He runs straight water in summer and mixture in cold weather. Works flawlessly exexpt for check engine light stays on from being disconnected I believe. This application works far superior on forced induction cars but can show gains on NA vehicles as well. Very inexpensive to build. Tons of info on this in google search.

Water injection is not "known to increase mileage." If they were, it'd be a cheap and easy way to gain mileage and be used all the time. It can increase the octance rating of the fuel air mixture which helps reduce detonation temperatures so one can run higher compression and more aggressive timing. This works to a reasonable extent on supercharged and turboed cars to increase peak power, and could likely increase mileage to a small degree. Wonder if the gain would be offset by the weight of the Toyota supercharger? Additionally, it needs to be used with an antifreeze agent like methanol if driving in the winter or at high altitudes.

6 MPG increase on a regularly aspirated Tracker? I doubt it.